How big does Ground elder grow?

About 30 cm × 1.5 m after ten years (height × width).

What soil does Ground elder grow in?

It tolerates these soils: average garden soil, clay, sandy, calcareous, acidic.

Is Ground elder hardy?

Hardy down to -34 °C (USDA zone 4, RHS H7). It gets through winter in every part of the country.

How much water does Ground elder need?

Water need: medium. Drought tolerance: medium.

What should I plant instead of Ground elder?

We do not recommend it for most Central European gardens. For a similar purpose we recommend: Ground cover rose, Lily of the valley, Bushy aster, Clustered bellflower.

Ground elder

Aegopodium podagraria

Ground elder (Aegopodium podagraria) is a ground cover plant that reaches 30 cm × 1.5 m after ten years. Light: part shade, shade. Hardy down to -34 °C. Drought tolerance: medium. Sold in local shops from about €3.90. We do not recommend it for most Central European gardens.

Illustration of Ground elder — An illustration of the typical shape of the mature plant, not a photo.

What it's good for, and what it isn't

A rhizomatous deciduous perennial that is native here in moist woods; nurseries sell its white-edged variegated form as ground cover for shade. People buy it because its pale leaf carpet, 20 to 30 cm tall, closes quickly under trees and shrubs where little else grows, and it carries white umbels in early summer. But it is also one of the most stubborn garden weeds: its rhizomes run without stopping and the variegated form readily reverts to the stronger green one, so we do not recommend it for beds or mixed plantings.

We do not recommend this plant

We do not recommend it for most Central European gardens. Further down we show what to plant instead.

Watch out for

It is a native plant, so not an invasive species, yet it is one of the worst weeds a garden can have. Its shallow, white, brittle rhizomes spread in every direction, running in among the crowns of perennials and shrubs, into the lawn and next door, and smothering smaller or weaker plants. It is close to impossible to eradicate: the smallest piece of rhizome left in the soil makes a new plant, hoeing or rotavating only multiplies it, and rhizomes that have run in among the roots of other plants cannot be picked out. The variegated form is somewhat less vigorous, but it often produces plain green shoots and its seedlings are green too; these are far stronger and quickly take over the whole patch unless you remove them at once. If you plant it anyway, use only a spot enclosed by a deep root barrier, paving or a wall, and cut off the flowers before they set seed. Other problems: in hot sun and in hot, dry summers the leaves scorch and the foliage looks shabby by midsummer (it can then be mown on a high setting and will regrow); leaf blight also occurs in warm, humid weather.

Key facts

Light: Part shade, Shade
Water need: Medium
Care: High
Size after 10 years: 30 cm × 1.5 m
Hardiness: down to -34 °C
Foliage: Deciduous
Flowering: J F M A M J J A S O N D May–July, white

Group	Ground cover
Light	Part shade, Shade
Size after 10 years	30 cm × 1.5 m
Ultimate size	20–90 cm × 0.5–1.5 m
Hardiness	down to -34 °C (USDA 4, RHS H7)
Soil	Average garden soil, Clay, Sandy, Calcareous, Acidic
Foliage	Deciduous
Flowering	May–July, white
Water need	Medium
Drought tolerance	Medium
Maintenance	High
Root aggressiveness	Low
Suckering	no data
Spreading	High
Distance from buildings	no data
Distance from paving	no data
Litter	not typical
Planting distance	30 cm
For dogs	no data
For cats	no data
For children	Non-toxic (uncertain)
Typical price	from about €3.90

Toxicity data is for information only. If your pet or child has eaten a plant, contact a vet or a doctor.

What to plant instead

Recommended plants that do the same job, with similar characteristics.

Ground cover rose

Rosa Ground Cover Group 60 cm × 1 m after 10 years

A group of low, wide-spreading roses (The Fairy and its relatives, the Flower Carpet series and similar) that cover a slope, a border edge or a…

Ground cover

Full sun

Part shade

from about €8.50

Lily of the valley

Convallaria majalis 25 cm × 30 cm after 10 years

A woodland ground cover that carries strongly scented white bells (pale pink in some forms) in late spring and makes a dense carpet under trees and…

Ground cover

Part shade

Shade

from about €14

Bushy aster

Aster dumosus 40 cm × 50 cm after 10 years

A low, dense, cushion-forming perennial that is smothered in purple, pink, blue or white yellow-centred daisies from late summer to mid-autumn, when…

Perennial

Full sun

Part shade

from about €4.90

Clustered bellflower

Campanula glomerata 50 cm × 60 cm after 10 years

A garden form of a wild meadow bellflower: in early summer upright stems carry tight, rounded heads of violet-blue, upward-facing bells that bees…

Perennial

Full sun

Part shade

from about €3.50

Sizes and prices available

The same plant is sold as a small pot and as a specimen several metres tall, and the price follows. Prices are rounded and for guidance only.

Size	Typical price
size not stated	approx. €3.90

Frequently asked questions

Data updated: October 13, 2026 · How our data is made

Looks good next to it

Common yew

Taxus baccata

Japanese pieris

Pieris japonica

Lenten rose

Helleborus orientalis